Tag Archives: Book of Revelation

Awhile ago, I had been reading about a particular study theme in Lee T. Dahn’s blog showing both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts have an underlying theme that contrasts the priestly family of Annas with the priesthood of Christ, the one being corrupt and the other holy. I found his point of view very interesting, and because of my reading his study, I have begun to recognize this theme behind some of the symbols in the book of Revelation. For example, I’ve already made the claim that the Image of the Beast is actually the seven sons or descendents of Annas, the high priest. Read the rest of this entry »

I think that of all the people who never read the Bible or know much about the Bible, the one thing they are most likely to know about the Bible is some misconception of 666. Undoubtedly, their misconception is founded upon their attending one of the creations of the equally ignorant Hollywood productions like the Omen series. Did you ever wonder how we would know the number of the so-called Beast? Would the number be written 666 beneath the hair of his scalp like it was done in the Hollywood production? If so, why does the Bible say we must calculate his number (Revelation 13:18)? In the 1970s I remember that some folks thought Henry Kissinger was the Antichrist, because someone calculated K-I-S-S-I-N-G-E-R and came up with 666! Read the rest of this entry »

I think one of the major difficulties we have in seeing what Peter is saying about our salvation in his first epistle is that we have been taught very well what our salvation is and what Jesus went through to secure eternal salvation for us. Nevertheless, in the first century this was something very new to one’s thinking. When the Pharisees spoke of resurrection, they spoke of rising from the dead to live again on earth. Whether they believed in eternal life is hard to say. Certainly the Jews teach eternal life today, but did they back in the first century CE? Personally, I believe this was strictly a Jesus’ teaching, and it caught everyone by surprise. Folks in Palestine who waited for the Messiah simply believed he would “save” the Jewish people from the Romans and make them a supreme power that would defeat all their enemies. The proposition that the Messiah would come and give us eternal life was simply not suggested. Read the rest of this entry »

In the final chapter of his epistle, James addressed the troublemakers, the false teachers that had arisen and divided the churches. He foretold their judgment (James 5:1), because they held back what they could have offered to help their brethren (James 5:2-3). James implied that these false teachers worshiped among the brethren for some time, because he claims they held back the “hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields.” In other words, they had been helped by true leaders of the churches. Their lives were better, because of the Gospel that was preached to them, yet they held back the “wages” of those who labored on their behalf (James 5:4-5), and not only so, but they had lifted up their voices against the very ones who had labored to make their lives better (James 5:6). Using encrypted language, James says the false teachers had condemned and killed the just (or the true leaders of the churches) and they have not resisted. That is, they have not responded in kind, but had prayed to the Lord (cp. Jude 1:8-9). While the false teachers slandered the true leaders of the churches (cp. James 4:7 where devil really means slanderer—then compare this with Jude 1:8). The leaders that God had set up in the churches didn’t respond in kind, but prayed that God would rebuke the evil workers, knowing the Lord is the true Ruler (Jude 1:9). Read the rest of this entry »

In the third chapter of his epistle, James gets down to the nitty-gritty. The empire-wide trial that had come upon the churches of God had to do with false doctrine spread by false teachers. This was an organized conspiracy begun by Annas, the High Priest of Jerusalem, the very same who had Jesus crucified. It was a secret plan whereby he had planted false brethren throughout the Christian assemblies in Asia, Galatia and Greece (cp. Acts 5 and the Ananias and Sapphira incident). Paul knew about the plan, but, of course, was not privy to the identity of the false brethren. He told the churches in Greece that the conspiracy was already at work (2Thessalonians 2:7), but Paul’s presence among the churches in the area was enough to keep secret evil plan from gaining a strong foothold among them. Read the rest of this entry »

In my two previous posts, seen HERE and HERE, I have presented an argument for consideration that Jesus is the two witnesses. The Scriptures clearly show that in the Temple the oil (symbol for the Holy Spirit) comes out of the two Anointed Ones to the seven lamps which symbolize the seven churches in Asia, representing the whole Church of God. The question arises, how can any man be the source for oil (the Holy Spirit) for the Church of God? Obviously, it is not possible for this to occur through man. It must come from God, and it does—through Jesus, the God-Man who is the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. Read the rest of this entry »

As I claimed in my previous post the “Two Witnesses” are really Jesus. Yet, you may ask how can Jesus, who is one, be two? Well, Jesus said of himself that he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Moses and Elijah appeared to him while he was transfigured before Peter, James and John. Both Moses and Elijah were the two witnesses of the Old Testament. Moses represents the whole Law of God and Elijah, being the first of the prophets of God, represents the Prophets and Writings of the Old Covenant. Jesus embodies the entire witness of God and came to fulfill all. Remember that the book of Revelation is a highly pictorial and apocalyptic book. It is not stretching truth to see him this way. Read the rest of this entry »